Podcasting for Cancer – Community Collaboration at it’s Finest!

If you’ve been following my Twitter stream (@DiscoPosse) in the last few days, you will hopefully have been a witness to the true power of community. In IT, many people feel that we are simply hammering down the road with our particular set of tasks and that collaboration is something that doesn’t really feature in what we do necessarily.

Collaboration is Key

I use Twitter for my single source of news and information for the most part. A side effect of watching this information flow, is that I am lucky to be involved in conversations (albeit 140 characters at a time) with a wide array of people who are important to me and to the IT industry. The same comes from the cyclists and musicians that I follow in their respective communities.

With Twitter and blogging and conferences, we have developed this incredible camaraderie and built some strong relationships despite distances and time zones that separate us every day. The day to day collaboration that takes place has provided invaluable information to me which has absolutely helped me personally and professionally.

And then something even more incredible happened…

Podcasting for Cancer

Last week, Gabriel Chapman (known to many as @Bacon_is_King) shared with us about a tragic situation that is happening with his family:

The results were immediate from our community with heartfelt responses and words of support. Then something amazing happened which was that Trevor Pott (@cakeis_not_alie) kicked off a community effort along with Jon Harris (@ThevCACGuy) to start up a Podcast series to raise money for Cancer research. That started here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/podcasting-for-cancer/ and I am proud to see that in only a few days that the original goal has already been exceeded, and it is still going!

Please read up on the story, and donate if you can. Every little bit helps, and you get to share in something incredible which is the selfless sharing of knowledge for the benefit of others. Both for learning and for giving, this cause is significant.

I had written this on my Ride to Conquer Cancer bio, and I know that it hits home with many:

Simply stated, cancer touches us all. I don’t need to tell you the statistics because the people who’ve faced cancer, survived cancer and tragically those who lost their battle are real and closer to us than we would ever think.

Only a few years ago I lost my mother to a difficult and long battle with cancer. Every day I hope that nobody has to experience what that feeling is like. I am one of the lucky ones to be able to turn the pedals every day and do anything I can to raise awareness.

I ride for those who cannot. And for those who fight this fight, I ride harder. Please join me in my cause and thank you for being a part of my journey to raise awareness and help to fight what needs to be a winnable fight.

I am proud to be a part of this community in IT, and in my cycling community and musicians community. Each has its own area of concentration but ultimately we all stand together when something needs attention. This is one of those things. I can’t do much for it, but I can share this story and I will do all that I can to lend my knowledge and time to help this noble and wonderful cause.

Thank you to all who have donated so far, and to all who give their effort and time. We are given a gift to be a part of this.